College Students Fear Inaction in Washington

The stakes in Washington’s current budget battles are particularly high for college students and other young Americans, according to a Concord Coalition chapter on the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin.

The Congressional Budget Office and other experts have warned that the economy could suffer substantial damage if elected officials do not act soon to avoid the fiscal cliff. Growth would slow and many businesses would likely reduce hiring or lay off employees.

“How can the government explain this to young people already struggling to find a job?” asks Ben Harris, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a recent op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Even more important: How can the government explain this to young people who just buried themselves in student debt to improve their chances of obtaining a job?”

Harris founded the Concord chapter on the Madison campus along with fellow students Alex Zukauskas, Peng Yin, Bekah Ludwig, Katie Maike and Meagan Brasier.

“Even beyond the fiscal cliff,” Harris writes, “the current generation of young Americans may be financially crippled by America's accumulating debt and deficits. They will have a lasting impact on my generation because as our nation's massive outstanding debt comes due, we will be the ones footing the bill.”